Monday, 25 November 2013

HKFA
Premier League

One of the key recommendations of Project
Phoenix was the establishment of a fully professional league based on a club
licence system. The rationale for this was quite clear. Compared to the past,
the standard and popularity of the 1st Division has slumped to
unacceptable levels. For a number of reasons we have entered a seemingly
endless downward spiral of;

Lowering standard of players
and quality on the pitch leading to…

Fewer spectators…..resulting
in…..

Less commercial (sponsor and TV
interest)…. which in turn….

Means less money for the
Clubs….and therefore…..

Reducing salaries for the
players…. And so the spiral starts again.

The main problem is the lack of money in
the sport which means that Clubs cannot invest in players, coaches and the
other important things that Clubs need like Governance, management, marketing,
administrative support etc. In Hong Kong Clubs don’t own their own facilities
for playing and training and so (as well as the playing surface being poor due
to overuse), they are denied vital secondary spend opportunities such as
advertising, retail, food and beverage etc. The lack of a dedicated ground also
means that Clubs (other than District teams) have no real affinity with a local
community and therefore no fan base.

All of this has coincided with the ability
to watch foreign matches on the television which has compounded the situation.

The current 1st Division is
comprised of 12 Clubs and these are all very different. Some are commercial
entities, some are part of wider Sports Associations and some are
District-based. Some are managed very professionally and others less so. Indeed
it would not be unreasonable or inaccurate to describe some as
semi-professional ‘teams’, rather than fully professional ‘Clubs’.

We have to be honest and say that the
public perception of the HKFA football leagues is not great. There is a
commonly held view that the sport is run by the ‘bosses’ and that players and
coaches are not afforded the respect they are due. In the past there have been
match-fixing incidents which have further damaged the reputation of the sport
locally.

Whether the perception is true or not is
hardly the issue. The point is that for many, the top tier of the sport is
tarnished to some extent and this is not attractive to either fans or
prospective sponsors and supporters. The number of active spectators is
embarrassingly low for a place the size of Hong Kong. Another important issue
is thatfootball
does not offer an attractive enough career for an aspiring young footballer.

For all of the above reasons the situation
must change. The top tier of football in Hong Kong should be the lifeblood of
the sport. It should be sufficiently attractive to entice the best players and
coaches who in turn will provide players for the Hong Kong representative
teams. International success will encourage more young people into the sport as
well as creating ‘local heroes’ for the domestic league thus drawing back the
crowds. It is time to unwind the
downward spiral and turn it into a virtuous circle.

It is acknowledged that this will not be
easy, particularly for the Clubs themselves. The Premier League has to be the vehicle
to lead that change. The HKFA is taking the bold step of linking participation
in the new league to the attainment of a ‘licence’. The criteria for getting a
licence must be carefully positioned. The targets should be stretching so that
Clubs have to work on improvements to get a licence but not so strict that they
require unrealistic levels of investment or workload. This is a difficult
balance to get right especially in Hong Kong where the degree of sophistication
of the Clubs varies so widely.

Initially the HKFA wanted to set the
‘licence benchmarks’ at the level required for Clubs to enter the AFC Champions
League. However, on reflection this threshold was deemed to be too high for some
our Clubs to reach, at least initially. Therefore there will be two levels of
licence. Tier One is the AFC Champions League Club Licence Regulations. Clubs
wishing to participate in this competition will need to attain this level. Tier
Two will be the Hong Kong Premier League Club Licence Regulations. The criteria
are the same for both licences but the thresholds and targets within them are
different, with the Hong Kong Licence being easier to achieve. Clubs will be
able to decide which level to apply for depending on their ambitions and
resources. However any Club wishing to participate in the Hong Kong Premier
League will need to obtain the Tier Two Hong Kong Premier League licence – that
is a prerequisite.

The regulations set minimum standards
(criteria) in a number of areas including:

Sporting Merit

Personnel and Administration

Facilities (infrastructure)*

Legal

Financial

*Clubs are not responsible for this area because they
don’t own the grounds. This will be a Government responsibility.

In adopting the two tier approach, the HKFA
has listened to the concerns of Clubs and believes that it is not asking them
to do anything other than would be expected of a professional football Club. For
example, a proper legal constitution, financial transparency, qualified
coaches, bona fide player contracts etc are all basic requirements that the
League, fans, sponsors etc would expect to be already in place.

The HKFA wants to work in partnership with
the Clubs in establishing the League and will be there to provide help, advice,
template documents etc between now and when the Licence application are due to
be submitted in May 2014.

Applications will be independently and
objectively evaluated and there will be an appeals process.

Twelve Licences will be available for the
2014/15 season. First refusal will go to the top 11 finishing teams in the
current 1st Division and the winners of the current Division 2.

It is important to note that eligibility to
apply for a Licence does not automatically guarantee entry into the Premier
League. Clubs will need to pass the application process. Whilst it is hoped
that all twelve teams will apply and be successful, we are not going to worry
unduly if some Clubs don’t want to participate or fail to meet the standard. We
will start the Premier League with less teams if necessary because we only want
professional, committed and ambitious Clubs to play in our top tier of
football.

I do not believe that the criteria for
entry are too onerous but it is inevitable that Clubs will need to invest some
time and money in obtaining a Licence. We will do our utmost to secure
additional resources that can be used to help the Clubs to ‘gear up’. We will
also expect them to find the additional resources required. At the end of the
day it is the Clubs that will ultimately benefit if the League is successful by
attracting more money from gate receipts, sponsorship, merchandising, prize
money etc.

If the new Premier League is established as
a sustainable entity, it is the intention of the HKFA to ultimately set up the
League as an autonomous body. Under such an arrangement the Clubs would be
responsible for match-day organization and through a League Committee be more
involved with setting the League Rules etc. We believe that this is what the
Clubs want and the HKFA is happy to facilitate that. However the Premier League
must be established first and prove that is sustainable and capable of
self-regulation and management.

I sincerely hope that the Clubs will view
the Premier League as a positive catalyst for change. I repeat, there is nothing in the criteria that a professional club
should not already be doing. The criteria are attached so you can see for
yourself.

The
next few months are critical for the future of the Professional game in Hong
Kong.

Thursday, 21 November 2013

Hong Kong V Uzbekistan

Last night our team was beaten 0:2 by
Uzbekistan in the Asian Cup 2015 Group Stage match. This result means that we
are third in the Group with one match remaining (away to Vietnam). Uzbekistan
and UAE have qualified whilst we are now competing for the one place reserved
for the best finishing third place team. It remains theoretically possible for
us to qualify but it will require us to win in Vietnam and for the other teams
currently sitting in third place in their groups to all lose. This outcome is
unlikely, but we will never give up while there remains a chance. We have to
believe in ourselves.

Whatever happens, we can be proud of our
performance in this tournament. Uzbekistan is 55 in the FIFA rankings which is
93 places higher than Hong Kong. They are the 3rd ranked team in
Asia. Last night we held them at bay for 84 minutes, much of it with 10 men.
Our team was competitive and every player gave 100%. It was probably the best I
have seen them play and I have no complaints whatsoever. I am proud of the
players, proud of the support team and proud of the Head Coach, he is a man of
total integrity with a burning passion for Hong Kong football. As you can
imagine, the mood in the dressing room after the match was very sombre; they
were all devastated and felt they had let Hong Kong down. I told them to hold
their heads up high. The fact is that Hong Kong has let them down. How can we
expect them to compete against teams who have trained harder for longer with
better facilities and more resources? The FIFA rankings don’t lie and if we
want to improve we need to recognize that it will take time. It will also take
a new approach. We need to create an environment, systems, support and
facilities that provide opportunities for aspiring and talented footballers to
practice for circa 10,000 hours between the ages of 5 and 18 (15 hours a week).
They are doing less than half of that on average now. Until we reach that
level, no one has the right to judge our players and coaches.

I was also proud of the other HKFA staff
there last night from the Competitions and Marketing teams. They are often the
unsung heroes because if they are doing their job properly everything goes
smoothly and they hardly get noticed. There is a huge amount of work that goes
on behind the scenes both in terms of preparation and on the night. Last night
was seamless and professional and credit to them.

I must say a special thanks to the fans. As
ever a relatively small crowd made themselves sound and feel like a big one
with a cacophony of noise and colour. They created a great atmosphere. I only
wish more people would engage with what we are trying to do. The guys on the
pitch deserve better and I can’t understand why there is such apparent apathy.
The crowd last night was under 6,000 which is 0.07% of the population of Hong
Kong. Hong Kong people are supposed to be passionate about football. What are
the other 99.93% of the population doing? It was a nice evening, an important
match, ticket prices are cheap and the stadium is very accessible. Can someone
please explain to me what we need to do to draw a bigger crowd? Two
complimentary VIP tickets for the next home game for the best suggestion!

Wednesday, 13 November 2013

The Development of Footballers - Player
Pathways

I am sometimes asked how a young aspiring footballer in Hong Kong can
progress from being a beginner to a fulltime professional. Actually there is no
short cut, even for the most talented players.

The conventional
wisdom is that it takes around 10,000 hours of purposeful practice over say 15
years (equivalent to 13 hours a week) to develop a world-class footballer. For
a number of reasons it is difficult to achieve that level in Hong Kong. That is
why it is problematic for us to be competitive with other countries. Through
Project Phoenix we are trying to implement change and simultaneously improve
every aspect of football development to give all players the best chance of
success. We must ensure that the systems, structures, facilities and resources
are put in place to allow footballers to practice longer, harder and smarter.
We need both quantity and quality of opportunity for training and competition.
There are undoubtedly a lot of talented footballers in Hong Kong. Unfortunately
talent alone is not enough; it needs to be blended with opportunity and relentless
hard work. So aspiring footballers must be dedicated as well as talented.

Our new Strategic Plan Aiming High – Togetherhas been written to make it as easy as possible to develop footballers.
We are introducing a systematic and coordinated player development continuum where every footballer is given the
chance to participate and progress to their level of competence and where the
most talented footballers within each age group are identified at an early age
and given more and better quality training and conditioning. Aspiring
footballers should be able to negotiate seamlessly along this continuum and the
pathways must be well sign-posted and accessible. This new system is
illustrated in the diagram below.

The
Football Development Continuum (Pyramid and Pathways) in Summary

Children need to be introduced to physical activity and basic ball
skills at a very young age. This will need to be done by parents, helpers,
kindergartens and nursery schools. In some cases children will attend football
classes when they are toddlers. The HKFA does not envisage getting directly
involved with children at this age but will encourage early years participation
and provide information on how and when to introduce basic skills.

Initially players will be introduced to ‘grassroots’ football (age
6 to 12) either through a HKFA programme, an amateur club, the schools system
or a Commercial Soccer School. Their progress through the grassroots stage must
be monitored. They must be given every opportunity to develop their natural
talent. Once they are 13 the children interested in football should be able to
continue to participate through HKFA Youth Development programmes but also at a
commercial soccer scheme, amateur club or though the school sport programme.
Those children involved in HKFA programmes will join District training programmes/leagues
or be talent spotted by one of the professional Clubs. If their talent and
ambition is confirmed by a qualified coach, there should be pathways to the
next level so that their potential can be developed. This would mean attending
additional training sessions at one of six HKFA Regional Centres of Excellence.
The children that are not of the requisite quality should still receive expert
training at the District level in recognition that some children are ‘late
developers’.

A major pathway particularly for talented players will be for them
to join a professional Club that has an accredited Academy but it is recognized
that many of the Clubs will take some time to develop these Academies. In view
of this and until the Club Academy system is fully developed, the HKFA has established
centralized Academies for the most talented players. These players will
therefore receive additional and higher level coaching in age group squads.

After the age of 17 or 18 Players will either be ‘signed on’ by a
Professional Club, where they will be eligible to play for one of the Hong Kong
senior teams e.g. U20. If they are not good enough to play professional and
representative football then there should be pathways to amateur football,
coaching, refereeing or football administration. Retaining people in the sport
is important regardless of playing ability.

It is the aim of the HKFA to ‘scout’ talented players that possess
the hallmarks of a professional player (technique, tactical awareness,
intelligence, physical conditioning and mental strength) and ensure that the
pathways and systems are available to nurture that talent and propel them to
success.

‘Game Changers’

The new HKFA Strategic Plan, Aiming High – Togetherhas been written to focus
on the major changes that will make a difference to football in Hong Kong. It
is deliberately ‘player-centric’ and in essence it is all about player
development through a systematic approach. There are some fundamentals that need
to change. These are summarized below:

Football
Development

Hong
Kong Style of Play and National Curriculum:
Devising, adopting and implementing the Hong Kong ‘shape and style’ of play
consistently and comprehensively across Hong Kong will result in better player
development. This should be articulated in a National Curriculum so everyone knows what needs to be done, why
and how. The curriculum will cover all aspects of football development from the
grassroots up to the elite level and include modules on men’s and boy’s,
women’s and girl’s football and futsal.

Integrated
Player Pathways: As mentioned above, there should be a
structured and systematic progression from beginner to elite international
footballer. Pathways and progressions should be clearly ‘sign-posted’ so that
every player has equal opportunity to reach their potential. The HKFA should
have an overview of all football development activity in Hong Kong (not just
its own activities and programmes) to facilitate effective talent
identification.

Grassroots
Football: It is imperative that effective coaching of
footballers starts as soon as possible. The HKFA and other providers should
adopt a small-sided games approach from the age of 6. Techniques, skills and
game awareness should be taught in a fun, safe and progressive way.

Youth
Development: From the age of 13 children should progress
to play 11 v 11. Again the emphasis should be on player development rather than
‘win at all cost’. Good playing habits should be reinforced and between 13 and
18 time on the pitch should be maximised to give the players as much opportunity
to hit 10,000 hours by the time they are 18. The pillars of development
(technique, tactics, conditioning and mental strength) should be developed in a
holistic way.

Talent
Identification: Better players should be selected for
additional training and coaching during their formative years whether this be
in a Regional Centre of Excellence, Club Academy or HKFA ‘high performance’
squad. These ‘stars of the future’ should be given every assistance and should
play against other talented players based on the ‘best v the best’ philosophy.
Their performance should be constantly monitored to ensure that they continue
to improve.

High
Performance: Hong Kong must develop effective systems for
and an engrained culture of high performance football. Once elite players are
in the system they must be given every opportunity to become full time
professional footballers if that is what they want. This means sports science
and medical support, analysis and evaluation and the best coaching available.
Top quality competition must be arranged as well.

Professional
Football: Football must become a worthwhile career
option. The top tier of football in Hong Kong must become more economically
viable if it is to encourage young people to aspire to become fulltime. This
means raising the standard of play on the pitch so more people watch and more
commercial revenue is generated. This will provide the resources to make
playing football more lucrative.

Player
Education and Welfare: A way must be found to make sure
that academic achievement and football prowess are not mutually exclusive. This
will mean schemes to link Education with Football Development through
academies, scholarships, bursaries etc and on-going vocational education of
footballers to give them second-career opportunities. A further safety net for
footballers could be provided through a Professional Footballers Association
that would be responsible for the welfare of players if they are injured or in
dispute with their Clubs.

Mindset:
As a generalization, at the moment youth coaches are more concerned with
winning than player development. Attitudes will need to change.

Inclusivity:
All of the football stakeholders in Hong Kong should be encouraged to
‘buy-into’ this strategy including adopting the Hong Kong playing style and
National Curriculum, the grassroots small-sided games approach and player
development systems and pathways. No child should be disadvantaged or slip
through the net.

This new approach to football development must be underpinned by
other strategic considerations. These are summarized below.

Coaching and
Coach Education

It is impossible to produce good footballers without good coaches.
The HKFA intends to train more coaches to a higher level and maintain their
knowledge through regular re-training. The quality of coaching sessions needs
to be constantly evaluated. It is critical that our coach education syllabus
reflects the Hong Kong playing style and National Curriculum. The level and
competence of coaches should be commensurate with the level of football being
played. Minimum standards will be set so for example, those involved in
coaching high performance football will have an ‘A’ Licence as a prerequisite.

Refereeing and
Officials

Similarly, the standard of refereeing must reflect the standard of
football. Additional referees will be identified and trained to the requisite
standard. Referees will be monitored and assessed continuously to ensure
on-going improvement.

Football
Facilities

Perhaps the biggest problem with football in Hong Kong is the
inadequate supply of good quality football facilities. This is a difficult
problem to solve but there is a need to re-assess priorities and the current
quota system. The strategic plan suggests a hierarchy of facilities from the
grassroots through to the professional Clubs through to the elite international
level. Again minimum standards are set on a District, Regional and national
level. At the top of the hierarchy is the provision of a Hong Kong Football
Training Centre. This long overdue facility is now critical to the development
of football.

Integrity and
Equality

It is important that football is ‘clean’ and seen to be ‘clean’.
This means being transparent in terms of governance and ensuring that all
football stakeholders uphold the highest standards of personal, management and
financial probity. Systems will be put in place to monitor match-manipulation
and there will be a zero-tolerance adopted to those that fail to comply with a
new code of conduct. The HKFA will abide by the principles contained in Article
3 of the FIFA Regulations on equal opportunities and anti-discrimination.

Partnerships

The Hong Kong Football Association as the Governing Body for
football in Hong Kong and the FIFA Member Association must lead the development
of football in Hong Kong. It is recognized however that it can’t do everything
itself. The title of the new Strategic Plan, Aiming High – Together reflects
the fact that many stakeholders and partners must buy-into the plan and work
collaboratively in its adoption and execution.

Resources

The delivery of the recommendations
contained within the strategic plan will require additional resources
especially money. Public sector grants and charitable donations will need to
‘pump prime’ the work of the HKFA and ensure that the organization remains
financially sustainable. It will take time before this financial catalyst
results in more commercial revenue streams from gate receipts, broadcasting and
sponsorship. Football contributes significantly to the health and well-being of
Hong Kong at the individual, community and societal level.

If all of these ‘game-changers’ are
addressed in the next few years it should be much easier for young players to
identify the pathway to becoming a professional footballer as well as much for
rewarding for those that eventually make the grade.

Mark has
been the CEO of the Hong Kong Football Association since 2012 and has been
responsible for the transformation of football in Hong Kong under a Government
sponsored programme called Project Phoenix. Project
Phoenix involved radical changes to the sport both in terms of the governance,
funding and management of the HKFA (off the pitch issues) and also football
development activities (on the pitch issues). As a result of the successful
implementation of Project Phoenix and its successor strategic plan ‘Aiming
High”, there are now more people playing football in Hong Kong, more regularly
and at a higher level. The HKFA was awarded the coveted AFC Developing Member
Association Award in 2015 in recognition of the enhancements made in terms of
high performance football, youth development, coach education, women’s
football, refereeing and futsal.

Prior to
working full time in Hong Kong Mark was based in the UK and operated as an
international sports consultant. In this role he completed many assignments
across the globe for example in Singapore, the Ukraine etc. In 2009 he wrote a
football development strategy entitled ‘Dare to Dream’ on behalf of the Hong
Kong SAR Government and completed a feasibility study for a Football Training
Centre in Hong Kong (now under construction). Mark has worked in the sports
industry for over 30 years as hands on operator, consultant and full time CEO.
He has a first degree and post-graduate qualifications in sports management.